87Warrior

I've got two 35's in Eastern Kansas you can have, if you detour westward and haul them away. 1 from a 92 and 1 from an 86, both about 180k miles and were serving daily driver duties. Willing to go as far east as St. Louis for a small fee.

Rebuilt leaf springs. Added an extra leaf by cutting the eyes off of an extra MJ main leaf. I coated each leaf in POR15 and Slip Plate and replaced the worn out anti-friction pads. I had to build new spring clamps as well. Oh hey, that sure is a funny looking Jeep axle... Got the 8.8 loosely under the truck. Still need to get the shock tabs welded to the housing. Using the Ruff Stuff kit let me position the axle 1" to the back which will allow me to use the stock driveshaft. The truck sits great with the AAL and larger 8.8 axle tube. Waiting for the spacers and brake parts to finish it up.

I just installed a Rampage shift knob on my AX5 with the 10mm threads. Nice simple solid aluminium knob that can't fail like the factory piece.

After owning this truck for almost 3 years, I finally decided to fix three of its biggest annoyances. 1. Replaced the front output seal on the transfercase as it always left a pool of blood under the truck. I used a Timken seal that was designed much differently than the seal that was in there. Hopefully it is an improvement. 2. The shift knob. The stock knob would spin in circles and, sometimes, it would pull off of the shifter...not fun. Replaced it with a solid aluminum shifter from Rampage. Sure it was a little more expensive than a stock replacement, but it should never fail in the same way. 3. The Cessna yoke steering wheel had to go. Replaced it with an extra traditional 3 spoke I had laying around. This project isn't complete though as I still have to install the NAPA horn repair kit. Not a big deal since I can shout louder than the horn in this truck. A new headliner is on the way, so maybe I will finally get those A-pillar trim pieces installed. The 8.8 also got new perches welded on and I have begun pulling apart leaf packs to give the truck a little boost. I will be coating each leaf in POR15 followed by Slip Plate then put together with grade 8 hardware.

From the Factory parts listings for the 231: I hope this helps. FYI - That 'electrical switch' at the top of the Ford housing is simply the Ford speed sensor. Most folks just leave it in place vs trying to plug the hole. I'd love to check out your truck sometime. It sounds like quite the rig.

Be sure to look at the floor pans very closely for rust. Actually pull up the carpet and look. These poor trucks generally rust from the inside out. If it truly is a rust free truck $2k is a fair price. The salvage title and 2wd reduce its value in my opinion.

I have two vinyl Medium Blue visors in my 86 with the center clip. They are the last few blue pieces in my cab. If you happen to have two visors and clip in any color, I'd be glad to do a simple swap. I'll ship mine to you, if you'd ship yours to me. If that doesn't work, I'd be glad to sell them provided I can secure replacements. I use the visors every time I drive the truck.

Ha! That DW hit like a ton of bricks and was totally unexpected. My wife was trailing me in the Camry and said it looked like the front axle was falling out of the truck! I installed the old RE1600 trackbar that was under my TJ for several years. Not wanting to drill out the frame side trackbar bracket, I elected to use a TRE. This TRE actually has just as much flexibility as the RE heim. We'll see how long it lasts. At the same time I replaced the frame side trackbar bracket with a later model bracket as the later years have a larger hole/taper that is considered to be standardized across the MJ/XJ platform. This stopped the DW, but the truck does still have a shimmy/wobble/shake between 45-55mph. I believe this is probably caused by bad tires being out of balance, a worn out drag link with 175k miles on it, and a poor alignment. Regardless, it will get properly aligned before getting new Cooper AT3's mounted.

Thanks. I won't worry about locating a new yoke nut. Admittedly I've never done this work before, but I am a bit confused about the silicone on the splines. I assume it is there to create an oil seal between the yoke and output shaft. I did not see any mention of that in the FSM. Granted I may have missed it.

Absolutely. A new set of MT springs would be great..... but they are kind of pricey for this budget build. I know several members here have had great success building their own leaf packs for their trucks and I would like to do the same.

I am looking for an effective way to gain 1-2" of lift in the rear end of my '86. Right now it is running stock 4wd leaf springs and Chevy lowering shackles. I am happy with the ride height the truck is at now, but anticipate I will loose about 1" of ride height when I swap the D35 for a 8.8 on Ruff Stuff perches (staying SUA in stock configuration). My stock leaf springs are pretty soft and sag quite a bit with a light load in the bed. I'd love to reduce the amount it sags with a load as well. After reading through several AAL and bastard pack threads, I believe I have come up with a decent plan to gain a little lift and carrying capacity. I will use my 4wd MJ main leaf followed by a 2wd MJ main leaf with the eyelets cut off as the AAL. Beneath the AAL will be the rest of the 4wd leaf pack. I believe this will accomplish what I am after since the 2wd leaf pack has more free arch than the 4wd pack has with the weight of the truck on it. If the resulting leaf pack yields more lift than I need, I can correct that with the shackles. I've never tried my hand at building a leaf pack. Let me know if my line of thought is correct.

Can anybody confirm that the NP207 an the NP231 share the same size yoke nut for the front output? I cannot find a yoke nut listed for the 207 anywhere. I need to replace the output shaft seal and have found information stating the yoke nut should not be reused. It does not specify the size or part number of the yoke nut. I speculate the 207 and 231 share the same yoke nut as they share the same seal and the yokes will interchange. Or, can the yoke nut be reused with loc-tite?

If your window simply fell out, why not get it reinstalled? Interstate glass installed my used slider when they put in a new windshield. They are only held in with some sort of glue.

Thanks! I think the trucks appearance speaks greatly of its character. This is my first time actively trying a budget build so it is different than anything I've done before. RuffStuff 8.8 swap kit is on the way. Now I have to figure out what is causing death wobble! It struck a 55mph coming out of a corner. This was the aftermath. My shorts look the same....

Don't go with YJ hoese. If you want extended, over the parts counter hoses, go with the Chevy 1500 hoses. Otherwise, just get rubber replacements from the parts store.

Niiiice score! I installed 5150's in the front of my TJ to try them out, and am very pleased.

Whoops. Double Post.

I drug this home today: 8.8 from a 98 Explorer, limited slip and 4.10's. Time to order some swap parts!

I am willing to drive 16-18 hours from Central KS to meet at a nice destination. I think there are 3 locations that would be great. 1. Ouray - Let's face it. Beautiful, Spectacular, a stock truck can do 99% of the trails and a built rig is just as fun to wheel out there. Truck damage would not be likely. 2. Moab - It's a wheeling Mecca. Unique desert landscape. Lots of trail variety but several of the 'big' trails can't be done with a stock truck. 3. Badlands - It's a place I've always wanted to visit. Seems like smaller trucks would still have fun.

Now she is back on the road. The truck drives much nicer now. The Chrysler style front brakes, albeit a poor design with the one piece knuckle, stop the truck much better than the AMC style brakes that were on it. Plus it is nice to have more parts interchange with newer Jeeps. Before the front end rebuild it felt like a squishy couch swaying down the road (according to my wife), even with the swaybar connected. Now it hugs the road like a Miata....ok maybe not, but the overall handling is much improved. The TJ 3" coils actually lifted the front of the truck 3", not the 2" that I was anticipating. This is probably due to the springs being stiffer for a heavier 6 cylinder. I am not complaining since it eliminated the forward rake. As you can see in the picture the stock trackbar is too short now, so the axle is sitting further to the driver side. I will install a used RE1600 trackbar when the new frame side end arrives.

Now that the summer heat has left Kansas, I decided to start on the front axle project so I can get a new set of AT3's mounted before winter hits. Non disco D30 gone through. - New Spicer Ball Joints - New Napa Unit Bearings - New Moog UCA bushings in housing - Replaced calipers, rotors and pads with lightly used parts from TJ - New Dorman Chevy 1500 brake hoses (these are much nicer than the YJ hoses) - Used 3" TJ lift springs The front end came apart real easy. I managed to get the new axle under the truck, but ran out of daylight while fighting with the driver side hard brake line. If the rain holds off, I should get it buttoned up in a few hours this weekend. I have found an 8.8, 4.10, limited slip, disc brakes for $200. If it is still available next week, I am going to try and pick it up.

I had (still own the shell) the AM/FM/WB/CD/TAPE version. CD player went out in a few months followed by the tape. FM signal was poor at best and the thing chewed through batteries like a St. Bernard. It has been a gutted dust collector for over 10 years. I have been planning to build a self contained water proof camping boombox and 12v charging station into the original shell. I haven't been able to find all of the parts I need in a small enough size.

The MJ, YJ, and most all XJs share the same basic HP D30 housing. The YJ always had a HP D30 up front. Therefore, the HP D30 YJ gears and carrier will interchange with a HP D30 from a MJ or XJ.

You should keep looking if you want to do a complete axle swap. By the time you buy the YJ axle and a bracket kit, you could have found a nice HP30 with 4.10's from an XJ that is ready to bolt in.

Agreed. I have a set of AT3's waiting to be installed. Have used the truck variety on a full size and am looking forward to trying the regular version on the MJ. Of the two options you posted, I would be more inclined to go with the BFG. Sure it is slightly taller, but the tread design won't create as much rolling resistance which your truck will appreciate.